The New York University women's basketball team earned a 73-56 victory over host Brooklyn College on Friday, January 3, at the West Quad Center in Brooklyn, NY.

The Bulldogs (6-4) jumped out to an early 10-3 lead, but a trio of layups from Lauren Gast (St. Louis, MO/Villa Duchesne), Lauren Koyama (Palo Alto, CA/Palo Alto) and Meghan McLaughlin (Mount Laurel, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep) brought NYU (9-1) back to within 13-11 with 3:34 left in the first quarter.

The Violets were able to take their first lead of the game,16-15, thanks to an Annie Barrett (Cambridge, MA/Buckingham Browne & Nichols) layup and ended the period ahead, 19-15, after a Katie Foos (Rumson, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) three-pointer.

In the second quarter, NYU and Brooklyn traded the lead several times. But, Koyama's pair of three-pointer's put the Violets ahead three, 34-31, to end the half.

"I thought Lauren (Koyama) did an excellent job," said Head Coach Meg Barber. "Not just offensively, but also running point with 32 minutes and zero turnovers."

The Violets led 50-48 at the end of the third quarter, but in the final quarter the NYU offense got hot. Barrett's layup with 7:39 left on the clock sparked a game-ending 23-8 run for NYU, securing the victory, 73-56. 

"We played without one of our starters, Jenny Walker (Sausalito, CA/Redwood)," added Barber. "It was nice to have Casey (O'Conner) back in the mix and just in general to make up Jenny's minutes in a great way as a team."

NYU shot 44.3% (27-of-61) for the game, while Brooklyn finished at 30.6% (22-of-72).

Koyama scored a game-high 17 points, while Brooklyn Shelton (Botetourt, VA/Lord Botetourt) had 16 and Janean Cuffee (New York, NY/The Lawrenceville School) added 15. 

Gast tied a career-high with 11 rebounds to lead the Violets, while Barrett grabbed eight. 

The Violets return to the court Sunday, January 5, when they host Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at the Sportsplex in Manhattan. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 pm.